About

Studio Other Spaces is an international office for art and architecture, founded by artist Olafur Eliasson and architect Sebastian Behmann in Berlin in 2014. As an architectural counterpart to Studio Olafur Eliasson, Studio Other Spaces focuses on interdisciplinary and experimental building projects and works in public space.

Olafur Eliasson (born 1967, IS/DK) is a visual artist who works in a wide range of media, including installation, painting, sculpture, photography, and film. Since 1997, his critically acclaimed solo shows have appeared in major museums around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate Modern, London; and the Venice Biennale. Established in 1995, his Berlin studio today numbers about eighty craftsmen, specialised technicians, architects, archivists, administrators, and cooks.olafureliasson.net

Sebastian Behmann (born 1969, DE), co-founded the architectural office PrinzBehmann in Berlin after graduating from the Technical University of Dresden. He has worked with Olafur Eliasson since 2001, and is currently head of the department for design and development at Studio Olafur Eliasson. Major projects include the facade of the Harpa Reykjavik Concert Hall and Conference Centre, Iceland (2005–11) and Kirk Kapital A/S Headquarters, Vejle, Denmark (completion 2017), in addition to numerous installations, pavilions, and international exhibitions.

The copyright for published objects developed by Studio Other Spaces GmbH itself remains only with Studio Other Spaces GmbH. The use or sharing of such images, audio features, video sequences, and texts in other electronic or printed publications is permitted for all non-commercial purposes.

Studio Other Spaces GmbH explicitly reserves the right to alter, supplement, or delete parts or the whole of the website's content, or to temporarily or completely discontinue publication without further notice.

Studio Other Spaces GmbH has no influence whatsoever on content offered through direct or indirect links to other web providers and pages and does not endorse any of this content – with the exception of the content on social media profiles administered by Studio Other Spaces GmbH.

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Ilulissat Icefjord Park, Greenland

2015–2016

Invited competition, finalist

The Ilulissat Icefjord Park uses the melting of ice to shape space. Studio Other Spaces has created a unique design strategy where ice is at once the formwork of a concrete structure and the focal point of the resulting space. For the Ilulissat Icefjord Park, Studio Other Spaces uses naturally calved icebergs harvested directly from the nearby ice fjord to create an exhibition building, called the Ice Void, which harbours in its walls the memory of the ice that was used to shape it. Together with the Ice Void, and linked to it outdoors by a 360-degree path, the Sun Cone building defines the Icefjord Park. The light glass structure of the Sun Cone positions the visitor centre directly in the landscape and offers guests a spectacular panoramic view of the surroundings and the Arctic sun. The park helps make the overwhelming experience of visiting the ice fjord comprehensible – providing visitors with a scale for contemplating and relating to the awe-inspiring ice fjord.

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Morland Mixité Capitale, Paris

2015–2020

Competition, first prize

The Morland Mixité Capitale project for the competition reinventer.paris was developed by Studio Other Spaces as a member of the competition team formed by Emerige and led by David Chipperfield Architects. This public work of art transforms the top two floors of the existing Morland building into an immersive optical device. Visible from the streets below and accessible to the public, it captures the atmosphere and immaterial qualities of the surroundings, transforming them into an evocative kaleidoscopic vista.

Movement House, Roskilde

2015

Proposal

Movement House is an innovative building dedicated to the cultivation of health. Promoting interaction between a range of health care services, Movement House forms a new centre in Musicon and Roskilde. The building’s 360-degree approach to health – which encompasses both physical and mental health, including social and emotional well-being – is supported by an open and flexible architectural design. The circular construction comprises an inner Core of doctor’s practices and health facilities, surrounded by an outer Activity Ring which encourages visitors to become aware of their bodies through active engagement with the space.

Parley for the Oceans, Tulum

2014

Proposal

A temporary inflatable structure, the Parley Tulum Pavilion is constructed using plastics recycled from the sea and is powered by the energy of the sun. It was designed for the Parley for the Oceans Conference in Tulum, Mexico, and the experimental, recycled material with which it is built is a direct response to the subject of the conference: how to rid the ocean of plastic waste. The pavilion’s daily energy requirements are met by a transportable solar array, developed in collaboration with Little Sun. The pavilion is both an embodiment of and forum to support the effort to clean the world’s oceans.

The House of Peace, Copenhagen

2014

Invited competition

An emblematic monument to world peace situated in Copenhagen’s Nordhavn harbour, the House of Peace appears on the horizon as an iridescent floating sphere. The building is a platform on the water upon which a spherical dome, formed from six overlapping shells of coloured glass, shapes an open, colour-saturated interior. While boasting a highly recognisable exterior, this unique building allows for countless spatial experiences within. Although moored in Nordhavn, the House of Peace is mobile and could travel the world. Through its global appeal it creates international awareness of our shared need for world peace.

Meles Zenawi Memorial Park, Addis Ababa

2013–2017

Commission

The park is inspired by the commitment of the late prime minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi, to sustainable development and reform and his emphasis on improving education, here embodied by the library and media centre. The buildings are integrated into the terrain, so that the ensemble reaches out into the park. The landscape, in turn, embraces the buildings, blurring the boundaries between green space and library, leisure and work, sport and knowledge. The park is being developed in collaboration with Fasil Giorghis Architects and consulting engineers MH Engineering PLC.

Art Museum, Denmark

2013

Proposal

This proposal for a new art museum on the west coast of Denmark, which is to be situated between the dunes and the sea, uses the movement of the tides to shape both the boundaries of the museum and the spaces within it. High tide floods some of the spaces, while at low tide the museum expands into the landscape. Visitors experience a highly flexible building that continually changes depending on the weather, time of day, season, and level of the sea.

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Philharmonie Extension, Berlin

2011

Proposal

The extension to the Berlin Philharmonie compliments and connects to Hans Scharoun’s Philharmonie and the Kammermusiksaal. It houses rehearsal and office spaces in two open, transparent, sculptural volumes that draw visitors onto the site, creating a dynamic public space; a studio stage and connections to the existing structures are established underground. The shape of the building appears to shift as viewers move past and around it, producing an animated landmark in the urban landscape.